FARMERS BRANCH â€” City Council members on Tuesday voted unanimously to hold single-member district elections May 11 to satisfy a federal judgeâ€™s ruling.

The council did not vote, though, on whether to appeal the ruling, which sided with plaintiffs who said the at-large system discriminates against Hispanics.

After passionate public debate, Mayor Bill Glancy again expressed disappointment for the decision by U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater, a Republican appointee, who ruled in August that the city violated the Voting Rights Act and had to develop a remedy.

â€śI am empathetic to people who donâ€™t like something forced down their throat,â€ť he said. â€śI donâ€™t like it, either. I donâ€™t see that this city is going to be better as a result of single-member districts.â€ť

The mayor then blasted the judicial system as a whole.

â€śThis judicial system in this country has been so manipulated by the minorities and by special-interest groups and legislative groups,â€ť he said, as light applause broke out and others looked shocked.

Hispanics make up about 45 percent of the cityâ€™s population, but about a quarter of the voters, according to the suit. Hispanic citizen voters will make up a little more than 50 percent of voters in one district on the cityâ€™s west side, under the redistricting plan approved by both the federal court and the U.S. Justice Department.

Others at Tuesdayâ€™s meeting said that change was up to voters and that Hispanics needed to become active residents and vote.

â€śI challenge every minority voter to come and participate,â€ť said resident George Brodrick, who is against single-member districts. â€śBe fully franchised.â€ť

He said Hispanic voters have been â€świllfully disenfranchisedâ€ť by failing to turn out for elections.

But some residents said that single-member districts were necessary to keep the city moving forward.

â€śI see six white menâ€ť on the council, said former City Council member Carol Dingman. â€śAnd that is very 1950s, and I think it is time to go into the future.â€ť

Pat Viveros, whose husband lost a bid to join the City Council a few years ago said, â€śIn our history â€¦ it often took federal courts to make decisions that were not very popular.â€ť

Rick Johnson, another resident, suggested the council not hold the election on May 11. â€śStop the madness,â€ť he said. â€śIt is time to appeal.â€ť

Others urged the city to think twice about an appeal.

Two suits challenging the cityâ€™s at-large system have cost Farmers Branch about $730,000. The winning law firm, Bickel & Brewer Storefront, recently requested that a judge approve another $400,000 in fees. The first voting rights suit against the city failed.

Resident Judy Byrd said she didnâ€™t like the federal judgeâ€™s decision but she was weary of the spending on legal challenges to the city. Defense of the cityâ€™s ordinance barring illegal immigrants from rental housing has cost the city nearly $6 million in legal fees through the end of January, the cityâ€™s finance director has said. A decision against the ordinance is on appeal.